The present invention broadly relates to transport equipment or apparatus for the transport or conveyance of products or articles, and, more specifically pertains to a new and improved construction of a transport apparatus for the transport or conveyance of printed products.
Generally speaking, the transport apparatus for the transport of printed products, especially newspapers arriving in an imbricated or shingled formation, is of the type comprising an individual conveyor which engages the individual product copies. To that end, the individual conveyor is provided with controlled grippers or gripper elements arranged at a mutual substantially uniform or regular spacing from one another. There is also provided an endless revolving product removal conveyor which at a product removal region of the individual conveyor is driven in the same sense as such individual conveyor, in other words, is driven in a sense or direction which allows transfer of products from the individual conveyor to the product removal conveyor at the product removal region of the individual conveyor. This product removal conveyor is equipped with controlled product removal grippers or gripper elements for engaging in each case a printed product. The grippers of the individual conveyor have mouth openings and the product removal grippers have mouth openings. The mouth openings of the grippers of the individual conveyor and the mouth openings of the grippers of the product removal conveyor are directed towards or confront one another and at the product removal region of the individual conveyor the grippers thereof and the product removal grippers of the product removal conveyor are controlled in opposite sense in relation to one another. In this context, the just mentioned designation "opposite sense" means that at the product removal region of the individual conveyor the grippers thereof are opened for releasing the printed products and at the product removal conveyor the product removal grippers are closed for engaging the released printed products. In this way, there can be accomplished an orderly transfer of the printed products from the individual conveyor to the product removal conveyor.
Such type of transport apparatus is known to the art and has been disclosed in the German Patent Publication No. 2,657,691 and the extensively cognate U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,182, granted Aug. 2, 1977, to which reference may be readily had.
In this prior art transport apparatus the grippers of the product removal conveyor or removal conveyor, are each mounted upon a displaceable carriage which can travel in a closed guide rail. Each of these carriages, as will be apparent by referring to FIGS. 4 and 7 of the aforementioned German Patent Publication No. 2,657,691 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,182, is directly coupled with the leading and with the trailing carriage by means of a drag connection. This drag connection allows alteration of the mutual spacing of the carriages from one another between a minimum value and a maximum value. Each carriage is equipped with follower elements which, at the product removal region, engage between the threads of a driven worm which thus defines the mutual spacing of the carriages from one another at the region of such worm. In this way, the printed products, arriving from the individual conveyor, can be taken over in so-to-speak the "same phase" by the product removal conveyor. Also at the delivery region the carriages of the product removal conveyor are driven by a driven worm, and between the product removal region and the product delivery region the sequence or train of carriages of the product removal conveyor, by virtue of the drag connection provided therebetween, can be stretched or else dammed-up.
As long as the printed products are transported by the individual conveyor then the mutual product spacing is constant, in other words, the product formation is orderly and uniform. However, as soon as the printed products are taken over by the product removal conveyor and further conveyed or transported, then the uniform and orderly product formation is disturbed in the sense that the mutual spacing between the printed products alters to the same degree or extent as there is altered the mutual spacing of the carriages supporting the product removal grippers. Only at the product delivery region of the product removal conveyor is there again re-established a uniform and orderly formation of the products.
Furthermore, with the heretofore discussed prior art transport apparatus the printed products can rub or contact one another during their transport by the product removal conveyor. This can occur by virtue of the variable spacing between the product removal grippers. That phenomenon is particularly disadvantageous in the case of printed products which have been newly printed, in other words, are so-to-speak "hot off the press". Furthermore, with this heretofore known transport apparatus, due to the drive of the product removal conveyor, the technological equipment expenditure or design is appreciable both at the product removal region and at the product delivery region and also appreciable power requirements exist. Finally, during operation of this prior art transport apparatus the product removal conveyor, particularly when working at higher product transport velocities, generates or emits a considerable amount of noise.